


Like a River Flows (in your eyes)

by NeverlandHeart



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Elementals, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2019-07-18 10:46:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16116806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverlandHeart/pseuds/NeverlandHeart
Summary: In a world where Elementals are treasured members of society, the percentage of them are dropping. To combat this, each kingdom arranges for the most powerful male and female of their element to marry in hopes of them producing elementals who will go on to produce more. Marriages can be arranged, but love? That's a whole different story.OrQuentin Coldwater knows he’s meant to marry Julia Wicker, and she knows she’s meant to marry him. As the most powerful male and female of their element, it was only a matter of time before their marriage was arranged. And it’s good. They’re best friends. It’s going to be easy. Except for the fact that Quentin is head over heels for the strongest male earth elemental and Julia is in love with the strongest female and male fire elementals. While Alice Quinn and Margo Hanson are also pining for each other, Josh just wants to be single. What’s the worst that can happen, really?





	1. Aqua (Quentin and Julia)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So I’m very excited to start this story. I’m not sure how many chapters it’ll have, but there will be at least six. To clear up and sort of confusion, Quentin and Julia: Water, Eliot and Margo: Earth, Penny and Kady: Fire, Alice and Josh: Air

Quentin sighs as he crouches down near the secluded river bed. In exactly one week, he’s going to be married, and that’s good. That’s okay. Except, it’s not. Because he’s not in love with his fiancée at all. He loves Julia with all his heart, he does, she’s his best friend in the entire universe. But he’s not in love with her. He watches as the water gently swims over the rocks and immediately he thinks of the man that’s been on his mind since he was fourteen years old. Thinks of soft brown hair and eyes that sing all the words they aren’t allowed to speak. He closes his eyes and breathes in the smell of the nature around him and wishes time could stop, just for a minute. And then it does. At least, partially. 

He can feel it in his veins and his eyes open to survey whatever damage he’s just done. He winces when he sees the water has stopped flowing completely. Shit. He stands quickly, slipping face forward when he steps on a larger rock (ironic, really, literally falling for the earth), but before he can come into any sort of contact with the ground there’s a hand grabbing the back of his shirt and pulling him backwards. “Do you ever look before you stand?” The voice is teasing and gentle and he smiles, turning to his..fiancée? Best friend? Julia? The last one fits best in his head. His Julia. 

She’s as gorgeous as always, brown hair cascading down her back like a waterfall. There’s a gentle smile on her face but he’s known her long enough to see the sadness that’s lurking there too. “Hi.” 

She rolls her eyes slightly and moves her hand from his back to give his hand a soft squeeze. “Hey.” She looks past him towards the river and her eyebrows furrow. “Did you do that?” As if it isn’t obvious. Quentin nods, slightly ashamed. Julia moves around him, graceful as a deer. She raises her hand and twists her fingers slightly and immediately the water is flowing again. “There, no big deal.” 

She tucks a piece of his hair behind his ear and he leans into the warmth of her palm, subconsciously seeking the comfort she always gives him. It’s always been like this, ever since they were five, Julia always helping him. 

See, Quentin and Julia are the two most powerful water elements in their small kingdom. Quentin is thoughts, his powers mainly coming from simply thinking about what he wants the water to do. Julia, on the other hand, is actions, using her body to control it. She’s graceful where he’s klutzy, and he’s the calm where she’s the storm. Two sides of the same coin. A perfect match. 

Except not.

Their marriage is something they’ve been excepting since they were fifteen. The other neighboring kingdoms do this as well, Fire, Earth, Air. You see, elementals are thinning out. For hundreds of year at least every other child was born with the power to control an element, which element, though, depended on where they were born. But these past hundred years it’s gone from one in ten, to one in twenty, and the percentage of elementals are still dropping and no one can figure out why. So, fifty years ago the leaders of each kingdom decided that each male and female who showed the most strength in their element would marry, and hopefully produce children who would then go on to produce more elementals. Unfortunately, extreme power is rare. Which is why when Quentin Coldwater and Julia Wicker almost created a tsunami when they were five years old, an immediate arrangement was made. They’re both twenty one now, and in exactly one week, they’ll be married. 

Quentin, in retrospect is extremely lucky. Julia is his best friend and he can’t imagine life without her. He could be engaged to someone he hates, and he’s grateful he’s got Julia Wicker, who he can genuinely call his soulmate. 

But he’s still not in love her. 

He sighs again and kicks off his shoes, stepping into the river. Julia follows him and hugs him from behind. There’s silence for a few moments before- 

“Q?”

“Jules, I-“ 

They laugh slightly and Julia grins at him while she makes stepping stones of ice across the river, dancing across them carefully. “You first.”

He slumps his shoulders, a clear sigh he’s stressed. “Jules, I love you. Fuck, I love you so much.” She doesn’t look like she’s paying attention, eyes shining as she creates shapes out of water in front of her face, but he knows she is. “But Jules, I-I,” 

She makes a humming noise in her throat and gives him a knowing smile. “But you’re not in love with me.”

A genius, his Julia. 

He gapes at her for a moment. “How-“ 

She drops the water she was playing with and reaches out to hold his hands. “Quentin, I’ve known you since we were five. Plus, I see how you look at Eliot when they visit. And trust me, he looks too.” 

Just the mention of his name is enough to give Quentin butterflies. He wants to hide, shrink in on himself but he knows he’s safe with her. “Fucking hell, J, we’ve snuck out a few times together.” 

And, well, if he didn’t have her attention before he definitely did now. “Quentin Coldwater, you scoundrel!” It’s meant to be scolding but her laughter gives her away. “Q, honey, I know. I love you, but you aren’t exactly the best at discreet.” 

He’s not offended because he knows it’s true. “Why didn’t you say anything?” 

She shrugs, going back to hopping back and forth on the ice. “It wasn’t my business. I know if you had wanted me to know you would’ve told me.” 

He immediately feels guilty. “Julia, it’s not because I don’t trust you, I trust you probably more than anybody, I was just-“

“Scared? I’m not mad Q, or upset, don’t worry.” 

“I love him Julia.” 

She makes another humming noise. “And I love Kady and Penny.” 

That has him choking on his own spit. “I’m sorry, _what_?” 

She giggles so hard at his reaction that she almost slips off the ice. “I’ve been sneaking out to see them for a few months.” She gives him a wicked grin. “You’re not the only one with secrets, Mr. Coldwater.” 

He has a half of mind to push her off the ice and into the water but there’s something more prominent in his head. “Kady and Penny, really? Isn’t that..weird?” 

She gives him a confused look. “Because of the polyamory?” There’s a flash of fear in her eyes and he immediately rushes to reassure her. 

“No! No, of course not. I just mean..water and fire don’t exactly mix, you know?” 

She nods in understanding. “Not usually, I guess. But..there’s just something about them, you know? They make me really happy.” 

Now that, Quentin definitely understands. “What are we going to do, J? We’re due to be married in a week, and it’s not like we can sneak around forever. It’s not fair to them and it’s not fair to us.” 

Julia squeezes his hands and pulls into a hug. “Then that just means we have a week to figure out a plan.” Quentin smiles into her hair and for a few seconds it’s quiet before she pulls away and speaks up. “Do you wanna know how water and fire actually go really good together?”

He raises a single eyebrow and she smiles and wiggles her fingers. “Steam.” 

At that, he pushes her off the ice and into the water and she drags him with her, both of them laughing on the way down. 


	2. Terra (Margo and Eliot)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Margo and Eliot have a heart to heart. Tears are shed, baths are drawn.

Margo grins from where she’s standing, watching Eliot move his fingers. He’s weaving them back and forth over a small pot and her grin turns into a soft smile when a daffodil grows from the soil in the pot. She walks towards him slowly, keen on making him jump. 

“Bambi, if you’re going to sneak up on someone, you should probably take off the high heels.” He turns his head and grins at her. “How was your walk?” 

She shrugs and rolls her neck. “Fucking awful. As always. Tick made it a thousand times worse, though. I don’t need to know the goddamn difference between every rock, if I can lift it with my fucking mind then that’s enough.” 

For some reason, the council in their kingdom had demanded that Margo take meditative walks at least twice a week. The council never had any good specific reason for the things they made anybody do, but gods help you if you didn’t obey. But, of course, Margo was still Margo so she usually ended up getting drunk or high while walking. Today was different though, as a member of the council had insisted on going with her and he forced her to practice her abilities over and over for hours. 

Eliot stands and walks over, moving behind her to rub her shoulders. “You’ve got knots again.” He grabs her hand and pulls her over through an open door towards his bed. “Want a massage?” 

Margo groans in what can only be described as ecstasy. “Gods, yes.” She reaches around to untie her dress and steps out of it when it pools around her ankles. She thinks for a moment before shrugging and taking off her bra. This wasn’t the first time Eliot had seen her naked and it probably wouldn’t be the last. 

She sits on the edge of his large bed as he reaches for something in the drawer next to his bed. “Do you have weed?” 

Eliot smirks and pulls out a joint and a match. “You read my mind Bambi.” He lets out a purring sound. “Come to drug daddy.” 

Margo rolls her eyes but crawls towards him to grab the joint and he lights it for her. She takes a long drag before laying on her stomach, breathing out and pulling Eliot next to her. “So..the flower, that for Quentin?” 

“Mm,” Eliot sits up and begins to rub at her shoulders. “I’m wooing the boy, it’s an art.” She lets out a hiss when he reaches a particularly painful spot. “He’s getting married next week.” 

Margo turns and cranes her neck to look at him. “So are we.” Eliot lets out a sigh that’s a mixture between sadness and annoyance but doesn’t say anything. “El,” She turns on her back to look at him. “This is Hell, I know, trust me.” Her mind goes to a blonde haired girl before she shakes the image from her mind. “But we’ve talked about this, it’s a marriage by title, nothing more.” 

He lays his head on her stomach and she plays with her curls. “We’re meant to procreate, remember?” 

Margo lets out a laugh at the word. “Fuck that, there’s no way in hell I’m giving up this body. The council can eat my ass.” 

He moves his head to look at her properly. “What are we gonna do Bambi?” 

She lets out a breath and looks to the ceiling, avoiding his eyes. “Well, I could always drop a boulder on anyway who tries to stop up if we decide to run away.” 

Eliot kisses her bellybutton, making her laugh. “Ding dong, the witch is dead.” That earns him a flick to the forehead but she immediately kisses the slight throb away. 

She turns her head to look out of Eliot’s bedroom, where his very small garden thrives under sunlight. “I used to kind of hate you for that, you know.” 

“Hate me for what?” He moves his head and his curls brushing along her abdomen make her laugh slightly. “My charm? Understandable, I did turn your last boyfriend gay.” 

She moves her eyes away from the plants  and flowers to squint her eyes at him. “First of all, we were sixteen, and he was bi, dumbass. You didn’t turn anyone.” He makes a slight hum of disagreement but doesn’t say anything. “I mean the flowers.” 

Eliot doesn’t say anything, simply reaching his hand up to trace the features on her face and waits for her to continue. It’s times like this that make her heart throb for this gorgeous man, feeling like he can practically read her mind. “You can make gorgeous things, make shit grow. All I’ve got are fucking rocks.” 

Eliot sucks on his teeth and sits up, looking at her. The light coming in behind him makes him look an angel, not that Margo would ever tell him, his ego is too big already. “I think,” He taps his ring finger on his chin dramatically, pretending to think. “That if you could make flowers, it wouldn’t be fair. You’re already beautiful Margo, you don’t need to make beautiful things because you are a beautiful thing. Besides, rocks can crush things, and gods know you’re good at it.” 

She beams at him and presses a soft but quick kiss to his neck. “I am, aren’t I?” 

They fall backwards onto the pillows, arms touching. “Do you think Quentin would run away with you?” 

It takes Eliot a couple minutes to answer her. “I really don’t know, Bambi. I think so, probably. Only if Julia can come too, package deal, those two.” 

Margo merely nods in response and they fall into a comfortable silence. If one were to look in on them, Margo wearing only a thong and Eliot pressed extremely close to her, they’d of course see it as something sexual, but for them this was just normalcy. Their way of being intimate and open together came in all forms. Naked or completely clothed. Under a million layers or wearing nothing at all, they were simply Margo and Eliot. 

After a few more minutes of silence, Eliot opens his mouth to ask if she’s in the mood for wine, but she interrupts him and he almost has to strain to hear her, her voice is so quiet. “I don’t think Alice would run away with me.” Eliot pretends he doesn’t see the single tear that falls from her eyes and down over her cheek. “She’s to grounded to her life. Her _duty_.” She spits out the word like it’s offended her and, to be honest, it probably did, but he doesn’t miss the way her voice cracks ever so slightly. “It’s kind of ironic isn’t it? She’s an air elemental and she’s planted like a damn tree.” She lets out a humorless chuckle before covering her mouth with her hands to hide a sob. 

Eliot immediately pulls her into his arms and let’s her cry. If Eliot could give Margo the world, he would. Every damn piece of it, but he can’t, at least not in the way she craves so instead he holds her tighter and begins to sing softly into her ear. He’s lucky that Quentin hates the arranged marriage idea just as much as he does, and he feels a pang of guilt over the fact that he sometimes forgets Alice is perfectly happy being miserable for the rest of her life to please the people in her kingdom, even if it means breaking Margo’s heart. When her sobs turn to tears and her tears turn to sniffles he gently pulls back from her and wipes her cheeks with his thumbs. “I think I need a hot bath, Bambi, join me?” 

She gives him a thankful smile. “Only if it includes lavender oil.”

Eliot puts his hand to his chest dramatically. “Do you take me for a peasant? Of course there’s gonna be lavender oil.” He stands up and offers her his hand which she immediately takes and he leads her towards his large bathroom. 

He’s going to give her the universe one day, but for now he’ll settle with massages and lavender oil. 


	3. Caeli (Alice and Josh)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not all arrangements can end in friendships.

“I think white and blue is a really nice color combination.” 

Alice hums in agreement. “Absolutely. I was thinking for the flowers maybe we could use peonies?”

Josh groans loudly from where he’s sitting on the floor and Alice turns to glare at him. “Can I help you?” 

He slides onto his back. “Uh, yeah, you could take this conversation somewhere else. Like off the edge of a cliff.” 

Alice crosses her arms. “I’m planning our wedding, you know, that thing that’s happening in five days?” 

Josh rolls his eyes and sits back up. “How the hell could I forget when it’s all you fucking talk about?” 

The short brunette girl that’s standing behind Alice clears her throat. “I’m going to let you two sort this out, I’ll come back later.” 

Alice turns and gives the girl an apologetic smile. “Of course, I’m sorry, thank you Grace.” 

The girl nods and leaves the room and immediately Alice turns back to Josh. “Do you have to be such an asshole?”

“Have to? No. Want to? Absolutely.” He pulls a joint out of his pocket and lights it. “And don’t even act like you wanna get fucking married, we can barely stand each other.” 

She purses her lips at him. “Well I, unlike some people, know what loyalty is and I follow my duty.” 

He stands and gives her a mean grin. “Yeah? That duty include fucking Margo Hanson?” 

He should see the slap coming, really. “Jesus! What the fuck is your problem?”

She bares her teeth at him. “Don’t you fucking talk about that, ever.” 

He rolls his eyes and hops up to sit the counter. “Whatever. Like I give a shit if you wanna be a coward.” 

“I am not a coward!”

He lets out a loud laugh at that. “Yeah, and I love monogamy. Why can’t you just admit that you don’t want to get married? Gods know I don’t, I wanna die single.” 

Josh has never made it a secret that the idea of being with one person for the rest of his life was less than appealing. If people do want that, good for them, but Josh prefers being free, and maybe that’s not the right word for it, but either way, marriage and relationships are definitely not in the cards for him. So, of course, the minute he met Alice Quinn when they were thirteen years old after he had knocked over a tree with an extremely strong gust of wind and was told he was going to marry her one day, he instantly hated her, and made sure she knew it, too. She immediately hated him back. Now, at twenty one, the hate has died down, but it doesn’t mean they get along. 

Like. At all. 

“And alone.” She spits back. 

He shrugs. “Well, at least I’d be living my truth.” He finishes off the joint and hops down, sauntering into her personal space. “You, Alice Quinn, are a liar, and a goddamn coward. You’re in love with Margo Hanson, but you just can’t bare to admit it, because gods forbid for you be honest with yourself and stop being perfect for a fraction of a second.” When he doesn’t get a response, he just shakes his head. “Pathetic.”

And with that, he turns and leaves the room. 

* * *

Hours later, Josh sighs from where he’s staring at Alice. She’s swinging back and forth on a log that they had tied to a tree when they were seventeen. The first and really only thing they had ever agreed on. Even from a distance he can see the mini tornadoes she’s making between her hands, a clear sign she’s distressed. She and Josh might not get along, but when you’ve been around someone for half your life you pick on their quirks, their habits. For a moment, he feels guilty for the words he had tossed at her earlier, true as he thought they were, she really didn’t deserve it. 

After hesitating for a second, he walks over and stands in front of her. “Scoot over, four eyes.” He expects her to make some retort, like always, maybe a ‘you wear glasses too, idiot’ but instead she remains silent and does as he asked and he sits down next to her. He pushes his hand forward slightly, manipulating the air to push the makeshift swing higher. “I was a dick earlier. And I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I’m sorry, Al.” 

She lets out a soft huff of air. “That’s not my name,” A pause, then, “You were a dick, but you were right.” He can’t help the smirk that begins to form on his face but she immediately glares it away. “If you ever tell anyone I said that, I’ll rip all the air from your body.” 

He puts his hands up in mock surrender. “Thought we weren’t supposed to get to the kinky stuff until the wedding night.” 

She rolls her eyes but he can see her shoulders grow stiff. There’s an awkward silence before she speaks up again. “I am afraid, fuck, I’m terrified. I love Margo, so much, she’s..she’s the most incredible person I’ve ever met. But..I love this kingdom too, I love everyone here, and I have a duty to them.”

Josh thinks this might be the most honest Alice has ever been with him and he’s not about to fuck it up with a joke. “But what about your duty to yourself?” 

She begins chews on her bottom lip at that question. “Am I allowed to have that? Am I allowed to be selfish?”

Josh puts his hands between his knees and looks at the ground, trying to articulate what he’s going to say. “Is it selfish though? I’ve never been in love before but..it doesn’t seem like a selfish thing. Love, I mean. Especially because it’s something you’re sharing.” 

“Don’t you think it’s selfish to focus your devotion on one single person?” She asks, looking at his face but avoiding his eyes.

“Kady, Penny, and Julia are in a relationship. The three of them love each other, a lot. I don’t..” He scrapes his fingertips along the rope, trying to find a way to word his thoughts properly. “Love..it’s something you share, it’s giving yourself to another person, or people, it’s trust and it’s being there for the good and bad days. It’s unconditional. I don’t think something like that could ever be seen as selfish, as long as it’s true.” 

She meets his eyes finally, and her face is soft. “Maybe not.” She gives him the most minuscule of smiles. “But I’m still terrified.” 

Josh nods his head. “Yeah, I’m sure. Is Margo?”

Alice looks away again. “No. She’s..brave. Ready to jump in. A part of me is worried that one day she’s going to look at me and realize that she needs someone just as brave as her, and she’ll leave.” 

Feeling courageous, Josh puts a hand on tops of hers. “Dude, she looks at you like you put the goddamn moon in the sky and created every single star in the universe. Maybe you’re not as brave as her, but does it really matter? I mean, sometimes bravery needs to come with some fear.” He squeezes her hand once before letting go. “I know we’re not friends, we barely tolerate each other. But I think you deserve happiness, Alice.” 

And then he’s standing up and walking back towards the house. “Josh?” 

He turns back to her and she gives him a genuine smile. “You’re a lot smarter than you act. And I know it doesn’t mean a lot coming from me, but I think you deserve happiness, too.” 

He gives her a gentle smile and pushes his glasses up with his middle finger. “Coming from you? It means a hell of a lot.” 

She watches as he goes inside and shuts the door before closing her eyes and letting her head tilt back, his words repeating over and over in her head. 

_How can something like that be selfish?_


	4. Ignis (Kady and Penny)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fire and sex? Always a great combination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’re really getting into the plot now people, strap in.

Kady bites down on her fist to muffle her moaning as Penny pulls her second orgasm from her. She immediately pulls him up by his hair from between her thighs to gives him a slow, languid kiss, not caring that she can taste herself on his tongue. “Fuck,”

Penny huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s the plan.” He grabs her sides and flips them over so she’s straddling his thighs. When he notices the small frown on her face he moves his hands to her hips and traces gentle circles. “What’s wrong?” 

She rubs her hands over his chest and sighs slightly. “This feels sort of wrong without her, doesn’t it?” 

Kady doesn’t even have to say her name for him to know she’s talking about Julia. He mulls it over in his mind for a few seconds before responding. “I don’t think it feels wrong, necessarily. Just..not as whole.” 

She nods in agreement before giving him an apologetic smile and rolling off him to rest her head on his chest. “She’s always so loud.” 

Penny let’s out a snort. “You mean how she lets out those squeaks when she comes?”

“Mm, and she knows what she wants but she’s to shy to say but when you prod she has the dirtiest fucking mouth.” 

“Remember the first time you went down on her?” 

Kady lets out a breathy laugh because, of course she remembers. How could she not? “She always makes sure we’re okay, after, like she’s not the fucking submissive.”

Penny grins and pulls at piece of Kady’s hair. “Like how she wouldn’t let us get up for a drink and used her powers to bring the drink to us?”

“Or how after our first real threesome she apologized like..ten times for coming so fast. She was so embarrassed I thought she was going to pass out.” 

At that, they both begin to laugh for a few minutes before it dies down to an almost sad silence. “I miss her.” Kady whispers. 

Penny leans down and kisses her forehead. “Me too.” 

Kady moves her head off of his chest to turn on her side and he follows, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close, resisting his chin on the top of her head. Kady breathes in deeply and closes her eyes. “What do you think she’s doing right now?”

He intertwines their fingers and lays them on the pillow. “My bet is she’s considering cutting her hair for hundredth time.” 

She lets out a ‘pfft’ noise. “Like she’d ever actually it do, though. And gods know we’d all miss her long hair way to much.”

Penny chuckles in agreement. “Do you still want to plan on running away?”

Kady turns so she’s facing him. “Don’t you?”

“‘Course I do, I just wanna make sure you’re not gonna have any regrets after.” 

She gently rubs her knuckles over his jawline. “I’m not going to regret it, ever. I don’t need anything besides you and Julia. I lo-“

Before she can finish, there’s a large bang from outside and they both immediately bolt upright. “What the fuck was that?”

Penny is already out of bed and yanking his clothes on. “I don’t know, stay here.” 

Kady scoffs because yeah, that’s totally gonna happen. She doesn’t bother getting dressed, just wraps the sheet around her body and follows Penny. When he sees she’s followed him he just rolls his eyes and opens his palm, golden red fire lighting the hallway. Kady follows suit, her own blue fire growing under her fingertips. 

A loud clang comes from the kitchen and they look at each other, communicating with their eyes. They locate the noise behind the counter and Penny goes one way while Kady goes the other. 

As soon as the cause of the noise sees the blue from Kady’s hand it lets out a shriek and Kady jumps backwards from shock, the sheet falling at her feet. “Oh for fucks sake.”

When Kady extinguishes her fire Penny follows suit. “What is it?”

Kady leans down out of his view and when she reappears she’s holding a blue jay. “Fucking messenger bird.”

Penny holds the bird while Kady unties the scroll from its leg. “It’s a blue jay, so, definitely the water kingdom. Probably Julia.” When she successfully unties the note Penny releases the bird and it flies out the window. Kady smiles when she sees the familiar cursive. “Definitely Julia.” 

He comes around so he can read over her shoulder. “Why does she want to meet so early in the afternoon?” 

Kady shrugs and closes her fist around the small scroll, immediately turning it into ash. “Any chance to see her is one I’m going to take.”

Penny grins and wraps his around her, hoisting her up bridal style despite her protests. “Bet you she cut her hair.” 

Kady smacks his arm but her eyes are shining. “Mm..you still up for that fucking session?”

The only response she gets is his mouth covering hers. 

Somewhere, in an entirely different world than their own, a figure sighs in relief and blows out a candle.

_Two down, six to go._


	5. Spero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A meeting, a note, and a plan. Make sure to bring weed when exploring unknown areas.

Josh let’s out a string of curses as he walks through grass that’s as tall as he is. “Fucking shit, what the fuck kind of meeting place is this?” He shoves his way through and hisses when a blade scratches him. “Why didn’t I bring weed? Ow! Ok, fuck this.” He puts his palms in front of him, pulls his hands back, and pushes forward, and the entire field of grass is pushed down by the gust of wind. Josh quickly notices a worn down path and races over to it. “Thank fuck.” 

After walking for a few minutes, a piece of paper clutched in hand, he makes his way to a small clearing and grins when he sees a woman standing by a tree. “Hey, so, definitely not my usual type of hookup but-“

The woman instantly turns around to face him and her eyes go wide. “Josh?”

“Julia?” He walks closer to her. “Am I just like..super shit faced and passed out somewhere or is this real?”

She raised an eyebrow and moves a single finger and a small sphere of water rises from a river he hadn’t noticed was there. “Wha-“

She hovers it over his head before dropping her hand and the sphere falls on him, soaking his face and hair. “Did that feel real?” 

She’s grinning at him and he pouts at her. “You could’ve just told me this was real.” He turns a palm towards himself and dries himself off. “So..I assume you’re not Victoria and that you didn’t send me this note.”

She walks over to him and gently takes the scroll from his hand. “No, not me.” She shrugs. “Sorry.”

He throws his head back and groans dramatically. “Great. You know, I haven’t had sex in like, three weeks and-“

She puts a hand up, wincing. “I don’t want to hear about your sex life.”

“More like lack there of,” He mumbles. “What are you doing here?”

She opens her mouth to respond but before she can two more figures are walking into the clearing. “Julia? Josh?”

Julia smiles when sees Quentin and Alice. “What are you two doing here?” 

Quentin is, as always, drawn to Julia and he’s immediately standing close to her. “I got a message from El to meet here.”

Alice raises a single eyebrow. “I got one from Margo.” 

Speak of the devil. “What if she wants to meet me to break it off, El? I don’t-oh.”

Eliot and Margo look around at the others. “Uh, is this an orgy? Cause I’m totally up for it.” Quentin rolls his eyes and walks over to his boyfriend to pull him in for a kiss. 

And then, of course, Penny and Kady make an appearance as well. “The fuck?”

Everyone stares at each other before Margo eventually speaks up. “Okay, what the hell is this?”

Alice looks over to her. “I got a note from you.”

Margo scrunches her eyebrows together. “I got one from you.” 

Kady and Penny move to where Julia stands. “We got one from Jules.”

Julia moves herself so she’s standing between them. “I got one from the two of you. And I’m going to guess Eliot got one from Quentin, Quentin got one from Eliot, and Josh got one from..some random hookup?” 

When they all nod in confirmation, Julia frowns. “But none of us actually sent any?”

She gets a chorus of no’s and her stomach sinks slightly. “Fuck, what if it’s a trap?” She looks over at Quentin. “We’ve got to get somewhere safer.”

He practically reads her mind and takes Eliot’s hand. “Come on.”

He and Eliot take the lead while Kady, Julia, and Penny follow behind, followed by Margo and Alice while Josh brings up the rear. 

The eight of them follow the river for about a mile before the sound of rushing water grows louder and they’re standing in front of a water fall. “Holy shit.” 

Julia grins at Josh’s amazement before her and Quentin walk further forward. Julia raises her hands while Quentin focuses his mind on the water and immediately two sides of the waterfall are spreading open like curtains. “Hurry, we don’t know who’s out here.” The other six rush in and after following them, Quentin and Julia quickly release their hold on the water.

The space behind the waterfall isn’t large, but it’s enough to house the eight of them comfortably. Julia takes in a breath and grabs Kady’s hand, intertwining their fingers and Penny wraps an arm around her waist. “We should be good in here.”

Margo stares at Julia and tilts her head, eyeing her up and down. They’re the only two who haven’t actually met before this. “So, you’re Julia?”

Julia frowns slightly. “Yes.”

“Hmm,” Margo crosses her arms. “I pictured you taller.”

Kady scowls and opens her mouth to reply, as does Penny, but Julia beats them to it. “Really? Funny, I didn’t picture you at all.”

Eliot and Quentin lock gazes, unsure of what to do if their best friends decide to hate each other. 

But then Margo beams at Julia and they both inwardly sigh in relief. “Oh, I like you.” She turns to Eliot. “We’re definitely keeping her.” 

Julia blushes slightly but quickly shakes her head. “Anyway, the eight of us got notes from someone pretending to be us. Does anyone have any idea of what could have happened? Maybe someone found out?

Alice shakes her head. “There’s no way they’d corner us like this, no one wants to face off with eight master elementals.”

“But then who did this? And why?” Quentin pushes his hair back and Eliot immediately takes his hand in an attempt to ground him. 

As if the universe had heard Quentin’s question, a rolled up scroll dropped down in front of him from seemingly nowhere. 

“Okay, now I’m sure I’m high.” Josh earns a hard pinch from Alice but he barely reacts, used to years of the abuse. 

“What’s it say?” Kady questions, letting go of Julia’s hand to walk closer to him. 

“Uh-I..I don’t understand, what-“ 

Eliot kisses his head soothingly. “Read it out loud, baby.” 

Quentin nods once and Julia can see his hands shaking. “Alright, um.” He shifts his weight nervously. “The eight of you have been found out,” Everyone inhales sharply at that. “Your kingdoms are beginning to put up precautions to keep you permanently separated, even if it means physically trapping you. Find a way to figure out your shit together and find a way out. Signed..F.”

There’s silence for a long moment before Penny pipes up. “Well, isn’t that just dandy.” 

* * *

After at least three hours of arguments, and an almost physical fight between Penny and Quentin, they’re all out ideas. 

“We’re fucked, we’re so fucked.” 

Quentin has tears in his eyes and Eliot holds him tightly from behind. There’s a general feeling of dread and hopelessness before-

“I have an idea,” Alice pipes up from where she’s sitting on a log. 

They all immediately turn to look at her. “What is it, love?” Margo asks, sitting next to her girlfriend. 

“Well, the kingdoms would never acknowledge a single marriage between two opposite elementals, right?” She waits for them to nod before continuing. “So..then why don’t we all marry each other?” 

“Wait, what?” Kady pipes up from where she’s sitting on Julia’s lap. “How would that help?”

“Not to mention,” Quentin butts in. “How could we even do that? Polygamy marriages aren’t recognized either.” 

Alice gives them her ‘I know something you don’t know’ grin. “First of all, if we’re all married to each other, technically we wouldn’t be breaking any rules, we’d be bending them. Julia would still be married to Quentin, Margo would still be married to Eliot, I’d still be married to Josh, and Penny would still be married to Kady. It would just be extra people.”

They all look around at each other, contemplating. Eventually Julia speaks up. “That..could actually work.” 

“Sweetheart,” Margo squeezes her hand. “Are you sure?” 

Alice knows exactly what she’s asking, and she nods once, firmly. “I’m done being afraid. I’m done thinking I’m selfish for loving you.” 

From his place in the back, Josh hides his proud smile behind his hand. 

“But again,” Penny looks at her. “How would we do it?” 

Alice falters at the question. “There’s this place I’ve read about. There’s people with abilities, not elementals, and according to the history books all sort of marriages are allowed, if we get married there, it would still count here and they’d have no choice but to accept it, the only problem is getting there.” 

Josh raises an eyebrow. “Where, exactly?”

Alice takes in a deep breath and exhales the word. “Fillory.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s right ladies and gents, we’re going Fillory, buckle up.


	6. Simul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Change is on the herizon. When in doubt, steal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s some foreshadowing here, I wonder if anyone is gonna figure it out.

“Wait, so let me get this straight.” Kady’s voice has an annoyed tone to it. “You know about Fillory, but you don’t know how to get there?” 

Alice sighs and pushes her hair away from her face. “That’s not what I said. To get there, we need a key. I just..don’t know where the key is.” 

Kady scowls. “That’s literally the same thing.” 

“Okay, let’s chill.” Josh stands up and walks closer to the group. “In the book you read about Fillory, was there any information about the key?” 

Alice chews on her lip before nodding. “There was, but I can’t remember exactly.” 

Kady throws her head back and groans. “Seriously?”

“Hey, it’s alright.” Julia steps in and lays a hand on Kady’s shoulder. “Alice, can you get the book maybe and bring it back here?” 

Alice shakes her head and sighs. “No. We can the read the books in the library but we aren’t allowed to take them.” 

Eliot raises an eyebrow at that. “What kind of bullshit policy is that?” 

Before Alice can reply, Josh beats her to it. “You know..I have a photographic memory.” 

All eyes are immediately on him, most skeptical. “No, seriously! If I could see the book, I could memorize how we can find the key.” 

For a minute everyone is silent. “That’s..not a terrible idea.” Quentin rolls his shoulders. “Better than nothing.” 

“Yeah, Alright.” Margo crosses her arms. “It makes sense. But hey,” She reaches out to play with Alice's hair. “Be careful, you hear me?” 

Alice gives her a gentle smile and kisses her palm. “I promise.” 

* * *

Josh’s nose scrunches up at the smell of old books. “Gross.” 

Alice rolls her eyes and walks faster to get ahead of him. “Would you shut up? I happen to like the smell of books.” 

He lets out of a small bark of laughter. “Of course you do.”

Alice weaves through the different rows of books before stopping abruptly, causing Josh to crash into her. “Shit! Sorry, Al.” 

She looks at him with an annoyed expression. “That’s not my name.” She stands on her tiptoes and grabs a thick dark green book from one of the higher selves. “Aha! Here,” She passes the book to Josh. “This part talks about the key.” 

He reads over it and frowns slightly. “Huh.” 

“What? What’s wrong?” He shows the page to Alice. “Oh.” 

* * *

“You’re kidding me.” 

Alice breathes in and shakes her head. “I wish.” 

Penny frowns and sits on a log. “We have to create the goddamn key? And the mold for the key is in the air kingdom?”

“Looks like it.” Josh pushes his glasses up his nose and sits next to him. “Taken from the earth, forged by fire, cooled with water, and embedded with air. Two different souls to collect each piece.”

“What the fuck does that even mean?” Quentin questions. 

“Wait,” Everyone to turns to Julia. “Q, remember our lessons? Each kingdom has a sacred artifact. They’re part of the kingdoms history. Ours is that silver sphere that supposedly has water from the first ever water elementals inside. I bet that’s what it means. And the two different souls thing could mean that two different elementals have to get the artifact.”

Margo makes a humming noise. “Wouldn’t it make more sense if the same two elementals  needed to get the artifact?” 

Julia shakes her head. “Not if we’re working together to make it. If we have to work together to make it, we have to work together to get the things we need.” 

“So, we’re splitting up?” Eliot detects the nervousness in Quentin’s voice and reaches out to hold his hand. 

“Who wants to go where?” Penny asks. “I’m down with going to the water kingdom with Jules.” 

“Actually,” Julia gives Penny an apologetic smile before looking at Margo. “I was thinking Margo and I could head to the water kingdom.” 

Margo raises an eyebrow but nods. “Works for me.” 

Quentin looks over at Alice. “I’ll go to the air kingdom with you?” It’s more of a question and Alice nods at him to confirm that’s fine with her.

Eliot hums and looks at Kady. “Partners?” 

Kady scoffs but nods. “Okay, we’ll head to the earth kingdom.” 

“Which leaves Penny and Josh to go the fire kingdom. That good with everyone?” Julia waits for them all to nod before continuing. “Okay, we need to be sneaky and fast. Our people are obviously already on to us, but stealing sacred artifacts is definitely going to set off some alarms.” 

Eliot shrugs his shoulders. “We’re the most powerful elementals in our kingdoms, how hard could it be?” 

* * *

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Kady has to zigzag to avoid the arrows that are currently flying towards her and Eliot. “El, where can we go?!” 

Because he’s much taller than her, he’s a few feet ahead so he stops until she’s close enough and grabs her wrist to pull her down a path through a forest. “Here. They’ll follow us but we’ll have the advantage,” He gives her a sly grin. “Ever started a forest fire?”

She smirks back at him, a twinkle in her eye. “No, but now seems like the perfect time to start.” She lifts her palm, a blue flame instantly appearing. As if throwing a match, she snaps her fingers and a single spark of her fire falls to the forest floor and in a matter of seconds they’re surrounded by bright blue heat. 

Eliot hums his approval and stretches hands out. “Daddy’s turn.” He turns to a section of trees and puts his palms flat, facing the ground. Carefully, and with a lot of concentration, he moves his palms sideways, and the trees follow his direction, bending to block the path. “There, that should keep them busy.” He takes his satchel off his shoulder and tosses it to Kady. “Put the artifact in there.” 

The artifact in question is a terrarium that contains a petrified flower and a rock that’s said to be as old as the kingdom itself. Like the other artifacts, it’s believed that these objects were used by the very first earth elementals. Once Kady puts it in Eliot’s satchel, she tosses it back to him and they start walking farther down the path. “Can we get back to the others this way?” 

Eliot nods. “It’ll take a bit longer but we’ll get there.” 

Kady takes in a large breath and nods. “I hope the others are doing alright.” 

* * *

Quentin follows Alice as she walks towards a large building. “The air artifact is in there?” 

Alice nods and looks around to make sure they haven’t been followed before opening the door and walking in, Quentin following her. “The key mold is here, too.” Once they’re inside, she turns to Quentin. “Do you want to get the mold while I grab the artifact?” 

Quentin bites his lip and shrugs nervously. “Is splitting up really the best idea?” 

Alice gives him a reassuring smile. “It’s kinda the only option. You’ll be fine, okay? The mold is in a small lockbox but you’ll be able to open it easily. Just head towards the exit and it should be there. I’m gonna go further down this way, only an air elemental can get to the artifact.” 

Before Quentin can ask exactly what she means, Alice is pushing her palms down and levitating off the ground. “Wha-you can fly?!” 

Alice laughs from her position in the air. “Kind of? Me and Josh can manipulate the air around us and it allows us to get a boost for a short period of time.” She moves her body higher and Quentin notices something hanging from the ceiling. “Q, the mold?” 

He blinks in confusion before realization dawns on his face. “Right, on it.” He runs down the hallway and towards the exit, looking for anything resembling a key mold. It doesn’t him long to locate it and he quickly grabs the brown the box. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” He whips around to see three guards glaring at him and curses inwardly. 

“Uh-I.”

He looks around desperately for any water source, but there’s none. “Fuck, okay, listen. I’m not-“ 

Before he or the guards can do anything else, the three of them are collapsing to the ground, trying to breathe. He turns to see Alice with one hand in the air, the other holding a vial. “Are they gonna be okay?” 

Alice steps forward and nods. “They’ll be fine, I just knocked the wind out of them. Literally. We have to get out of here.” 

Quentin nods and they both run towards the exit, breaking into a sprint as soon as they’re out. 

* * *

“Let’s go!” 

Julia quickly shoves the sphere into her backpack and she and Margo run towards the back exit. As soon as they push through the doors, they’re immediately surrounded by nine guards who quickly block any path they could use to escape. 

One of them steps closer to them and turns his eyes to Julia. “Miss Wicker, good to see you back home where you belong.” 

Julia glares but before she can say anything, Margo is standing in front of her. “She doesn’t plan on staying.” 

He hums and turns back to the other guards. “A shame. I had hoped this would end peacefully, but apparently not. Men, use any force necessary to get Miss Wicker home. Same goes for the dirt girl.” 

Margo bristles at that. “I’ll show you dirt, motherfucker.” She looks over at Julia who nods once and that’s all the confirmation she needs. Lifting one of her hands, she summons multiple pebbles into the air. 

Next to her, Julia lifts both her hands and the water from the fountain to the right of them whips in front of her. “I’m not going back.” 

And with that, four of the guards charge Julia while the other four charge Margo. Julia quickly manipulates the water into a shield of ice before letting it melt right when they reach her, sending them flying backwards with a wave. They get up quickly and using both her hands again, she turns half the water into spears of ice and sends them flying, causing two of the guards to be pinned to a tree by their clothes. When the other two come running towards her, she summons more water from the fountain and circles her arms counterclockwise, making a large sphere of water that she uses to throw both men backwards, knocking them unconscious. 

Meanwhile, Margo has been using the pebbles as bullets. They aren’t dangerous enough to kill anyone, but they do hurt. Quickly, while the three that are left get up from the ground, she summons multiple pebbles and merges them together to create a large rock. She shoves it towards the guard that’s closest to her and it hits him in the stomach, causing him to go flying backwards. Getting on her knees, she digs her hands into the gravel and the ground immediately starts shaking. She smirks at the final two before pouring all her power into the rocks around her and all at once, half of the ground breaks apart and they fall into the broken cracks. She raises her hands and snaps them forward then back, causing the rocks to clamp onto their ankles so they can’t escape. 

“Margo!!” 

She was so busy with the four that were coming after her that she fails to notice their leader running towards her with a spear in his hand. Before she can react, Julia is pushing her out of the way. She shoves her hand upwards and boiling hot steam comes from her palms, burning the man severely and he collapses to the ground. 

When she turns to Margo, she can swear that for a split second Julia’s eyes turn red but it’s over before she can register it. “Come on!” Julia grabs her hand and they start sprinting towards the gates. 

Once they’re safe, Margo spins around and stares at Julia. “How the fuck did you do that?” 

Julia swallows and looks down at her hands. “I..I don’t know. I just know that you were in danger and I guess instinct kicked in. But..I don’t know what that was. Or how I did it.” 

Margo decides not to say anything about her eyes. She walks closer to her and puts her hand on her shoulder. “Well, whatever the fuck that was, it saved my life. So, thanks.” 

Julia gives her a timid smile. “Don’t mention it. Let’s get back to the others.” 

* * *

They all return to the clearing at the same time, except for Penny and Josh, who look like they’ve been there for a while. As soon as everyone catches sight of each other, Kady rushes over to Julia and pulls her into a tight hug. “Thank fuck you’re okay.” 

After a short reunion, they quickly get down to business and Alice takes the lead. “Okay.” She sets the box that holds the mold on the ground. “Taken from the earth.” She turns to Eliot and Margo who step forward with their artifact. Eliot focuses on the flower while Margo focuses on the rock. Carefully, Eliot is able to get the flower back to its original state and it blooms. Margo moves her hand over the rock and forces it to crumble, the pieces falling into the mold while Eliot carefully places the flower inside. 

Alice turns to Penny and Kady. “Forged by fire.” 

She and Penny grab their artifact, an extremely old flame that’s been burning for thousands of years and they hold it above the mold, causing the rock to melt to fit perfectly into the mold and the flower to sink into it. 

Julia and Quentin are already standing when Alice turns to them. “Cooled by water.” The two of them take the water from the sphere and use it cool the key down so it stays in the shape. 

Finally, Josh walks to stand next to Alice. “Embedded with air.” Alice uncaps the vial and they both push the air inside into the key. 

When they know it’s safe, Alice reaches down and grabs the key. “So, according to the book, if we’ve done this right, a door should appear.” 

When nothing happens, Penny steps forward and grabs the key. “Okay, we obviously didn’t-“ 

Before he can finish, there’s a blinding light and they all have to shield their eyes. After it dims and fades away, they immediately notice the object in front of them. “Is that..a clock?”

“Guess the book was wrong.” Penny places the key into the lock on the clock and pulls it open. He looks back at them all. “Who wants to go-“ 

Josh quickly runs through the opening. “-first.” 

Eliot and Quentin are next, they hold hands as they walk through. Alice follows after with Margo. 

When Julia steps forward, she stumbles slightly and Penny and Kady immediately rush to hold her up. “Are you okay?” 

Julia nods quickly. “I’m fine, I just lost my footing for a second.” Before they can ask if she’s sure, she walks through the entrance and they follow her. 

* * *

The second all of them are on the other side, they’re immediately greeted by a girl who beams at them. “Hi. It’s been a bit since we’ve had any newcomers, welcome.” She steps forward. “I’m Fen.” She gestures behind her to two other people that they’re just now noticing. “This is Todd, and his sister Marina.” 

Todd smiles at them while Marina’s face doesn’t show any emotion. “We’re sort of the welcome party.” He states. “We were alerted that one of the entryways was being opened and we were summoned here.” 

Fen smiles at them all and steps forward. “Welcome to Fillory, safe haven for all magical beings. Come, we’ll show you around and then you can meet our leader.” 

“Your leader?” Josh questions. 

Marina rolls her eyes. “Our king, she means.” She steps forward and eyes them all up and down. “King Henry Fogg.” 


	7. Tutus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group finally meets King Fogg, and get met with a few surprises on the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry this is on the short side, but we’re finally getting further into the plot.

Fen, Todd, and Marina all lead them to a village while Fen explains more about Fillory. “Pretty much everybody here has some type of ability. Except for the king. Most of the people here are from other places. They usually come here because they’re forced out of their homes or because they didn’t like the way they were being forced to live.” 

Todd smiles and waves at a few people before turning to look at the group. “Which one are you guys?”

“The second, I guess? We uh, we’re the most powerful elementals in our respective kingdoms and we all had arranged marriages -“ 

“We know that story.” Marina interrupts Quentin and frowns as she looks at them. “We’ve got at least thirty people here who are elementals and they all talk about the arranged marriage bullshit. Never had the ones who are a part of the marriages come here, though.” 

The group looks around at each other. “At least thirty?” Eliot almost sounds like he’s in awe.

Margo scrunches her eyebrows together. “Why do I get the feeling that elementals aren’t dying out, but instead they’re fleeing to other places?” 

Kady nods in agreement. “That makes a whole lot more fucking sense.” 

Trying to be polite, Julia steps closer to Todd. “What abilities do you three have?”

Todd beams at her. “I can talk to animals, my sister has telekinesis, and Fen is an empath.” 

Josh gives him a confused look. “What’s an empath?” 

Fen turns to look at him. “It means I can feel other people’s emotions. Over here is where people get to practice their abilities if they need to, it’s sort of a training area.” 

Julia doesn’t mean too, but she begins to tune Fen out as she looks around. The people here seem genuinely happy. There’s kids running around and everyone is smiling. She notices a small girl creating clouds out of nothing and close to her she sees a man who’s obviously a fire elemental summon a flame to his hand so he can light a small fire by their house. “Esme, we’re getting ready to cook!”

The girl who was making clouds stops what she’s doing and turns. “Coming, daddy!” 

That makes Julia freeze in place. Kady bumps into her and gently grabs her forearms. “You okay?” 

Julia doesn’t respond, instead turning to Fen. “Hey! Who are they?” 

Fen turns to where she’s pointing, a woman having joined the small girl and her father. “Oh! That’s Jemma and Miles, and their daughter Esme. Miles is a fire elemental and Jemma is an air elemental. Would you like to meet them?” 

Julia shakes her head, still in slight shock. “No thank you, I don’t want to interrupt their dinner. It’s just..we’ve been told that opposite elementals can’t conceive children.” 

Marina raises an eyebrow at her. “Who told you that?” 

Margo brushes past them all to get a better view of everything. “A bunch of fucking liars, apparently.” 

Marina cracks a small smile at that but it quickly disappears. “I’m sure Fogg is waiting for you.” She turns to her brother. “Me and Todd need to go but Fen will take you to the castle.” Todd smiles at them all before Marina drags him away. 

“I’m sorry,” Penny puts one of his hands up. “Did she say _castle_?” 

* * *

“This is castle Whitespire.” Fen giggles slightly as she watches them take it all in. “I know, it’s sort of breathtaking. I’ve lived here all my life so I’m used to it but sometimes even I can’t believe it’s real.” 

She starts to lead them down a hallway. “The throne room is this way. Do you mind if I ask why specifically you’ve all come to Fillory? I mean, I know the gist of it, but not the specifics.” 

Kady decides to be blunt, as always. “The eight of us want to get married. To each other.” 

That seems to stun Fen, as she stops walking and turns to them. “Uh, wow, really? Well, we accept love of all kind here, so-“ 

Alice quickly interrupts. “What Kady meant to say is that because of the rules in our kingdom, a marriage between opposite elementals wouldn’t be accepted or recognized, so we found a way around the rule. If we all marry each other then technically, each elemental is married to their matching elemental. That way, the people who are actually together,” She pauses to take Margo’s hand and the other girl smiles at her. “Can, well, be together.” 

Fen nods as she takes all the information in. “That’s really smart. I’m sure King Henry will be happy to help marry you all.” 

When they reach the end of the hall, Fen knocks on the door and when they hear a voice telling them to come in, Fen opens the door and they walk into a large throne room where a man sits on a throne. 

Fen curtsies before standing up again. “Your highness, these are the new arrivals.” 

He stares at them for a moment, eyeing each of them up and down before smiling widely. “Welcome! It’s always a pleasure to see new faces. What brings you to Fillory?” 

Fen quickly explains for them, Henry nodding and making comments here and there. “I’ve always hated that marriage rule. I’d be more than happy to help.” 

The group smiles at each other, relieved. All except for Julia. She doesn’t understand what, but she feels something off about this man. She opens her mouth to say something to Kady and Penny, but Eliot is speaking before she can. “Fen told us you don’t have any abilities. Why lead a kingdom where everyone has powers but you?” 

Julia looks at Eliot, impressed and suddenly curious about the answer as well. 

Henry nods. “Yes, I’m just a human, unfortunately. To answer your question Eliot, I didn’t choose to become king of this land, the people voted me in. I think they believe that because I have no abilities, I’ll be unbiased. Personally, to me, though, being able to watch over these people is a great honor, and helping others who come from different places is a wonderful thing. It disgusts me what some worlds will do to keep their people in line. I’m proud that Fillory has become such an open and welcoming safe haven. Just because I don’t have powers, doesn’t mean I won’t do everything I can to help this place thrive.” 

Something in Julia’s gut screams _liar_! But she tries to push it back. Immediately, a wave of dizziness washes over her and she winces. She looks around to see if anyone had noticed. Thankfully, no one had. 

King Fogg finally stands from his throne and gives them all a bright smile. “We’re so glad to have you here, I hope you enjoy your time in Fillory, if there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask.” 

For a split second, Julia swears she can see his shadow move behind him but she blinks it away. When Josh speaks, his voice sounds muddled, like she’s underwater. “We will, thank you.” When she backs away, she stumbles slightly, and before the others can even register what’s happening, she’s collapsing onto the floor, unconscious. 


	8. Vita

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing is ever as perfect as it seems.

Kady paces back and forth in the living room of Fen’s cottage where they’ve all being crashing. “This is bullshit.” 

Penny nods in agreement from where he’s sitting on the floor, tossing a ball of fire back and forth in his hands as if it were a baseball. “We have every fucking right to see her.” 

Alice watches them, sympathy in her eyes. She imagines if she were in their position, if it was Margo laying unconscious and she wasn’t allowed to see her, she would have blown the door off its hinges by now. 

“I understand how frustrated you are,” They all turn to Fen as she walks into the living, a tray full of various foods on one hand, and a tray with drinks on the other. “They just need to make sure that whatever she has isn’t contagious.” 

Quentin gives her a grateful smile as she hands him a cup of chamomile tea. Julia’s absence has left him slightly cold, having gotten used to having his best friend by his side almost always. “How long will that take?”

Fen looks over at him as she hands a cup of coffee to Margo. “It shouldn’t be more than a day.” 

At that, Penny stands and walks out the door, slamming it behind him. Everyone minus Kady, who quickly follow him, jumps slightly. 

Josh rolls his eyes slightly at the dramatic exit. “Sorry about them.” Alice shoots him a look and he gives her one back. “What? That was rude as fuck. It’s not like she’s dy-“ Alice quickly raises two fingers and with a gust of wind, Josh’s glasses are knocked off his face and into his glass of wine. “Real mature, Al.” 

She simply smirks at him. “Not my name.” 

Fen laughs and shakes her head. “It’s fine, I’d be the same way if it was-“ 

Before she can finish, the door opens and a young girl walks in. “Mom, I’m-“ She stops when she sees the group and her eyes widen slightly. She quickly composes herself and turn to Fen. “What’s going on?” 

Fen takes the bag that the girl is carrying on her shoulder. “Fray, these are the new arrivals. This is my daughter, Fray.” 

Fray stares at them, blinking. “...And they’re in our house because?” 

Fen gives her a small glare. “Be polite, they’re our guests. They’re staying with us until King Henry can find them a place to stay.” 

She scans them all over before scoffing. “Great. Five strangers living in our house.” 

Fen grins slightly as she hands Fray an apple. “Actually, there’s eight of them.” 

Frankly, Margo is quite impressed by the glare she gives them all. 

* * *

Quentin can’t help but smile as he and Eliot walk through the woods of Fillory. He knows Eliot is trying to distract him from worrying about Julia and it’s helping. Quentin watches as the people of Fillory go about their day. They’ve only been here for two days, but Fillory is already starting to feel like home.

He stops walking when he notices Eliot has stopped. “What is it?” 

Eliot just smiles and shakes his head, walking closer to Quentin and wrapping his arms around his waist. “Have I told you how much I love you?” 

Quentin flushes at this. He knows Eliot loves him, he shows it all the time, from brushing his knuckles when he’s nervous, to ravishing him whenever he gets the chance, but Eliot has only said it out loud a handful of times, and whenever he does, it has Quentin’s heart fluttering in his chest. “You have, yes.” 

Eliot hums. “Well, let me say it again,” He looks at Quentin, and there’s something in his eyes that’s different, something Quentin hasn’t seen before. Eliot gently takes his hands and squeezes them. “I love you, Quentin Coldwater. So much.” He kisses Quentin on the nose and gives him a minuscule grin. “So much so that I’m about to ruin these silk pants with dirt.” Before Quentin can ask what he means, Eliot is getting down on one knee and all the air leaves his chest. “I know we’re already getting married, but I wanted something that would be personal, something just for us. So, I’m asking,” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a ring made of green vines, tiny blue flowers woven in between the spaces. Green for earth, blue for water, intertwining, Quentin quickly realizes, “Will you marry me?” 

The answer he gets is Quentin letting out a happy sob as he drops to his knees and pulls Eliot into a messy kiss. 

* * *

Alice wheezes with laughter as Margo brushes dirt off herself. “Oh, shut up!” 

Margo turns to her, glaring, but it only makes Alice laugh harder. “I told you not to wear high heels!” 

Margo tries to fight the smile that’s growing on her face but she can’t. “Yeah, laugh it up.” It’s nice seeing Alice laugh, her girlfriend never does it often, it’s a rarity to see her relaxed and happy, and she’s going to revel in it. Even if it’s at her expense. “Come on, let’s go find Penny and Kady.” 

* * *

Kady shoots Penny a look as King Henry walks between them, going on about how happy he is to have them all here. After Penny had stormed out and Kady followed them, they ran into Henry and quickly began to ask about Julia, but it was the same answer Fen had given them. 

When they hear shouting to the left, they turn to see two men pushing each other, one throwing a punch. “What the fuck?” 

When one of them conjures a lightning bolt in his hand, Kady and Penny immediately step in. “Hey! Back up!” They both light up their palms and push the men back from each other. “Whatever the fuck is going on here, I’m sure it can be solved without electrocution.”

The man who had summoned the lighting bolt simply glares at them before storming off, and the other man does the same, walking in the opposite direction. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Henry is glaring at them both. “What in your goddamn minds made you think you had any right to step in? I’m the King, and it’s my job to keep the peace between my people. Do you understand me?” 

He towers over Kady and for a moment he looks absolutely psychotic, before he takes in a breath and his body and face relaxes. “I’m sorry, but please, don’t do that again.” He gives her a sugary sweet smile and straightens his jacket before walking away. 

Penny looks at Kady, and the others as they all arrive next to them. “What the literal fuck was that?” 

Margo stares at Henry’s retreating figure. “Sketchy as fuck is what that was.” 

Quentin looks down at the ground before looking back up. “It was like a switch was flipped.” 

Josh opens his mouth to say something to try to defuse the tension, but his mind is blank. 

They all watch as Fogg disappears over a bridge, suspicion swirling inside all of them. 

* * *

Julia slowly opens her eyes, blinking slightly at the sunlight steaming in through the window. Her throat feels dry and she lets out a small cough, alerting a woman she didn’t know was there until she walks over to her. The woman is tall, with red shoulder length hair and kind hazel eyes. She reaches down and gently presses a hand to Julia’s forehead before pulling it away and smiling at her. 

“Hi, Julia, I’m Maribella, it’s good to see you’re awake, how are you feeling?” 

Julia sits up slightly and winces when the dizziness hits her. “I’ve been better.” 

Maribella laughs lightly and nods, and passes her a small glass of water which Julia quickly downs. “Where I am?” 

She sits down on a chair next to Julia’s bed. “You’re in the Fillory infirmary. You fainted, and your friends have told me you’ve been acting a bit odd. Do you think you can tell me what’s been going on?” 

Julia shrugs and moves her hair off her shoulders. “I don’t know, exactly. I’ve been feeling off ever since I developed this..new power, I guess? And there’s dizziness, lots of dizziness. I didn’t think it was a big deal but,” She gestures around the room. “I guess I was wrong.” 

Maribella makes a humming noise. “Would you mind explaining what you mean by a new power?” 

Julia looks down at her hands. “I can create steam from nowhere, really hot steam. I don’t understand why it’s happening.” 

Maribella gives her a gentle smile. “I think I do. It’s not your power, Julia.” 

Julia looks at her, confusion written all over her face. “What are you talking about?”

She smiles and places a gentle hand on her shoulder. “It’s your baby’s.” 


	9. Cresco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the door opens, Julia’s head whips up and Quentin smiles at her, shutting the door again. He leans down to hug her which she immediately returns. She breathes out through her mouth. “Hi.”
> 
> Slowly, he pulls back and smiles at her. “So, what do the nurses say? Should I like, freeze some water around my face so I don’t catch whatev-“
> 
> “I’m pregnant.” 
> 
> That shuts him up quite fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some foreshadowing, some backstories, and lots of love

Julia blinks at Maribella. “I’m..you mean..”

Maribella smiles at her and nods. “Yes, Julia, you’re pregnant. Do you have any questions or concerns?”

Julia sucks her bottom lip between her teeth. “The steam..it’s because of the baby?”

“Yes, that’s correct. The father is a fire elemental, right?”

Julia simply nods. “Most likely your two elements mixed together, which is where the heat comes from.”

“So..she..he..it’ll be able to just..create steam out of nowhere?”

“Because that’s how the babies powers seem to be flowing through you, I’d say yes, more than likely.”

Julia looks down at her shoes. “Right. Okay.”

“Would you like for me to send for your partners? Kady and Penny, right?”

Julia swallows, her eyes moving towards the door while she pulls on the hem of her shirt. “Uh, actually could you get Quentin for me? Please?”

There’s a hint of worry in Maribella’s eyes but she quickly nods. “Of course. And Julia? Congratulations.”

Julia wishes she had returned the smile the woman gave her.

* * *

Penny finds Margo standing in the middle of Fillory, staring at the forest. “Hey.”

If he surprises her, it doesn’t show. “You here for the same reason I am?”

Penny crosses his arms and squints, looking through the trees. “I think so. Fogg is sketchy as fuck.”

Margo nods, once, not blinking. “I’ve been watching him. He crosses that bridge everyday and then disappears into the damn forest for hours.”

“What do you wanna do?”

Margo looks over at him, stone faced. “Were gonna follow him. Tonight.”

Neither of hear the sharp inhale from the figure watching them.

* * *

When the door opens, Julia’s head whips up and Quentin smiles at her, shutting the door again. He leans down to hug her which she immediately returns. She breathes out through her mouth. “Hi.”

Slowly, he pulls back and smiles at her. “So, what do the nurses say? Should I like, freeze some water around my face so I don’t catch whatev-“

“I’m pregnant.”

That shuts him up quite fast. “Julia, oh my god. Holy shit, that’s incredible.”

When he sees her face, his smile falls. “It is incredible, right?”

Julia sighs and looks at her hands. “I mean, yes? But I don’t know. What if Penny and Kady aren’t happy? For fucks sake, Q, were so young.”

“Jules,” He sits down on the bed next to her. “Are you kidding me? Kady and Penny love you more than anything, of course they’re going to be happy. Are you happy? Do you want this?”

Julia places her hands on her stomach, feeling some ever so slightly fluttering inside of her. She looks back up at him and smiles. “Yeah,” There’s a look on her face like she can’t believe what she’s saying. “I do. I want this.”

Quentin beams and rubs her back. “So, that’s where the steam is coming from, huh?”

Julia nods. “That’s what the assumption is, at least.”

Quentin can’t fight the slight chuckles that comes out of his mouth. “That’s..the most ironic fucking thing I’ve ever heard.”

Julia glares at him slightly. “What are you talking about?”

Quentin smirks at her. “Because Julia, everyone knows that the best thing about mixing fire and water together,” He holds his hand in front of her face, wiggling his fingers. “Is steam.”

And well, if Quentin’s ass is bruised from landing on the floor when she pushes him, Eliot doesn’t need to know why.

* * *

Josh and Alice follow Fray through the village, listening as she talks. Well, Alice is listening, Josh is looking. Half an hour ago Alice had asked Fray to take her on another tour of Fillory, to explain things that Marina and Todd hadn’t, and Josh, bored out of his mind, decided he was going to tag along. Alice stops walking when she notices a group of people arranging bricks. “What are they doing?”

“Hmm?” Fray stops to turn where Alice is looking. “Oh. They’re building.”

“Building what?”

Fray shrugs, moving closer to her. “A house, probably. Everyone here has a job.”

When Josh sees that Alice and Fray are no longer next to him, he stops and turns, running back to rejoin them. “Warn a guy before you make a pit stop, huh?”

Alice simply rolls her eyes, watching as the group continues to organize. “So, their jobs are to build.”

Fray nods. “Telekinetics and earth elemental are usually in charge of building, it varies from houses, to infirmaries, to even benches.”

Alice notices that someone is missing. “Isn’t Marina a telekinetic?”

Fray scoffs and smirks slightly. “Yes, but she never works, she’s with Todd most of the time. They’re usually always together, which makes sense given what’s happened to them.”

Josh, who’s been quiet, quickly blurts out the question that people are usually too polite to ask. “What happened to them?”

Alice glares and sends a gust wind slamming into his legs, making him stumble slightly. He glares right back but doesn’t move to get her back. “What? I’m curious, Al.”

Under her breath, Alice mumbles that that isn’t her name.

Fray looks between the both of them. “It’s not my place to say,” She turns her back and begins walking again, both of them following her.

Eventually, Fray leads them over to a bench that’s clearly made of smoothed down rocks. She sits down, and Alice and Josh sit on either side of her. “This is where plant earth elementals grow our food. Tomatoes, strawberries, carrots. You name it, we have it.”

Alice hums. “Do you mind if I ask what your ability is?”

Fray blinks at her, looking slightly taken aback. “Oh,” She moves her gaze away from Alice to look back at the field of growing plants. “My power is worthless. It’s a stupid little party trick.”

The both of them are still looking at her, Josh slightly expectantly and she sighs, leaning back against the bench. “Rainbows.”

Josh squints at her. “What?”

Fray sighs again, more annoyed this time. “I make rainbows. Small or big, but still just rainbows.”

“Fray, that’s not a worthless power.”

Fray rolls her eyes. “So my mom tells me.” She looks over to where an earth elemental is growing an apple tree next to three others and she glares slightly. “The more power the better, huh?” She mumbles it and Josh looks at her.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.” She stands and starts walking again. “Come on, I’ll show you where we collect our water.”

“You said everyone has a job, does that include you?”

Fray nods but doesn’t stop walking. “Because my power isn’t useful, I got assigned a basic job. Essentially, I’m a mailman. Mailwoman. Whatever.”

Josh opens his mouth to comment, but Alice sends him a glare and he immediately shuts it.

* * *

Eliot stands next to Marina as they watch Todd communicate with a group of four bears. One of them, Humbledrum can speak English, so they understand him when he replies to Todd, but the others simply growl and make the occasional grunt, so neither are following the conversation.

Eliot looks at Marina, his eyes sweeping up and down. “You said that you and Todd aren’t from Fillory, where are you from?”

Marina look back at him, a harsh glint in her eyes. “Why the fuck is that any of your business?”

Eliot simply shrugs and looks back towards Todd, who’s laughing at something one of the bears said. “It’s not.”

There’s a heavy silence before Marina breaks it. “We’re from earth.”

Eliot doesn’t look at her, but he positions himself so she knows that he’s listening. “I was fourteen, Todd was twelve. Our parents knew about his powers, but I kept mine a secret, made him keep them a secret too. After our mom died, our dad, who was always a piece of shit, got worse. He was drunk almost all the time, eventually lost his job. Todd had a parakeet that he talked too all the time. Dad always hated it.” She takes in a breath and Eliot moves his gaze to her cheek, where he can see a tear make its way down her cheek.

She clears her throat. “One night, he came back from the bar, drunk off his ass. Todd and I were watching television, and Todd was explaining the show to Mars, that was the birds name. And our dad reached his breaking point, I guess. He started yelling at Todd, screaming that he just wanted a normal kid. And then he yanked Mars off of Todd’s shoulder and snapped her neck.”

Eliot’s eyes widen at that. “Todd started crying and dad started screaming again, saying that men don’t cry, especially not over stupid animals. He grabbed his arm and yanked him off the couch, and I knew, I just knew he was going to kill him. So I used my powers to shove him straight into a wall. I didn’t mean to kill him. I just wanted him to get away from Todd. But his head hit the wall too hard and it started bleeding. Not even a minute later, a doorway appeared. I grabbed Todd and pulled him through it because well, fuck, what else did we have to lose?” Marina rolls her shoulders. “We’ve been here for the past six years.”

“Gods, Marina, I’m-“

She whips her head at him, glaring at him. “Don’t pity us. We got out. That’s what matters. Not what happened to us.” 

Eliot stares into her eyes for a few moments, not breaking contact. “That’s what matters.” He’s just not echoing it back, he’s agreeing.

Marina nods and quickly wipes her eyes as Todd jogs over to them. “Well?”

Todd beams. “Humbledrum and the others agreed to stop killing the boars.”

Marina gives him a proud smile. “Good job, little brother.” She drapes an arm around his shoulder. “Let’s go get some food.” She turns to look at Eliot. “See you later?”

Eliot simply nods, turning and walking in the opposite direction.

* * *

Kady watches as Fen sharpens her knives. “So. Fray seems..difficult.”

Fen looks at her, eyes shining with something Kady can’t put her finger on. “Fray is special. More than she knows.”

Before she can ask what Fen means, the others are walking into the small cottage. Relief floods into her body when she sees Julia smiling at her. She rushes over and immediately yanks her girlfriend into a hug. “Woah, easy, not so hard.”

Kady steps back, worried she’s hurt her. “Shit. Are you okay?”

Julia looks at Quentin who smiles at her encouragingly. “I’m okay. I’m,” She glances at Penny, then Kady, taking in a deep breath. “More than okay, actually. I’m pregnant.”

“No fucking way!” Everyone glares at Josh for the outburst and he raises his hands in surrender.

Penny and Kady’s expressions are unreadable and Julia swallows nervously. “Is that..okay?”

Penny steps forward first, gently placing his hand on her stomach. “I did this?”

Julia can’t help but laugh. “Unless there’s another version of you out there running around, then yes, you did this.”

Kady looks at Julia, eyes watering. “We’re having a baby.”

At the same time, Kady and Penny let out watery laughs and hug her, carefully this time. “Oh my god, we’re having a baby.”

Standing behind them, Quentin not so subtly gives her a thumbs up and she beams at him. “Maribella thinks I’m about thirteen weeks along.”

“I’ll bet you a million dollars it’s gonna be a girl.”

Alice, of course rolls her eyes, but instead of doing something to minorly injure him, she smirks. “I’ll bet you a million that it’s a boy.”

Josh is stunned for a few moments before he grins at her. “You’re on.”

* * *

Later that night, when they’re sure Fen and Fray are asleep, the eight of them leave the cabin and head towards the bridge. “You’re sure you’re up for this?”

Julia nods at Kady. “I’m sure. Besides, if anything happens, I’ve got an extra power.”

Margo leads the way, and Penny follows at the rear.

Kady and Penny summon fire into their palms, blue and orange colors helping them in the darkness. “Look.” Alice points to a worn down path and they all begin to follow it.

After about ten minutes, they come to a cabin, and Eliot tries to open the door, quickly realizing there’s a lock on it. “Shit.”

“Here,” Margo steps forward. “I’ve got it.” She lifts a large rock, preparing to break the lock, but Quentin grabs her wrist to stop her.

“No, wait. If we break it, he’ll know we were here.” He looks around and notices a small puddle. Squinting at the water, a small bit of it rises and Quentin moves it through the lock, freezing it once it fits into the shape. He twists the ice and the lock immediately opens. “There.”

Eliot grins and kisses his forehead. “Let’s see what this asshole is hiding.”

Kady and Penny extinguish their fires and one by one they all walk into the small cabin.

When they see what’s inside, they all freeze. “Oh my god.”

All of them are suddenly overcome with a powerful sense of dread.

Kady and Penny grab Julia’s hands, and Eliot moves slightly in front of Quentin, grabbing his hip, while Alice and Margo stand side by side.

Josh steps forward but Alice yanks him back. “Don’t.”

Margo reaches out to pull Alice closer to her side. “What the fuck is this?”

In front of them, twirling in the air, is a giant black mass, tendrils moving in and out, as if searching for something.

Before they can even think about leaving, the door slams shut behind them.


	10. Manus Clamantes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A butterfly doesn’t need to flap its wings for the world to end.

They all whip around at the same time, hands immediately ready to summon their element. As they see who it is, they all drop their hands and sigh in relief. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Fray looks at them sadly before her faces goes neutral. “This is all my fault.”

At that, Margo’s protectiveness kicks in and she stares daggers at Fray. “You made this thing?”

Fray shakes her head. “No. But..I’m the reason you’re all here.”

* * *

_Fray sighs as she straightens her satchel, still full of letters she needs to deliver. She feels bad, in a way, for hating her job as much as she does, but she also knows that someone has to do it. And, unfortunately, she pulled the short straw when it came to powers. She’s not entirely paying attention to where she’s going, just letting her feet guide her. When a body slams into her, knocking her down and spilling half of the letters onto the ground, she’s livid instantly._

_“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Fray huffs slightly and begins picking up the letters. She notices another set of hands that begin helping her and she can’t help but glare at them._

_“Are you fucking bli-“ As she’s talking, she turns to whoever knocked her over and immediately quiets. She’s looking into possibly the bluest eyes she’s ever seen, moving her eyes away she’s quickly entranced with the long hair that’s so dark it’s almost blue. “Um, it’s alright. No big deal.”_

_The other girl smiles in relief and stands up, offering Fray her hand. For a moment, Fray can’t do anything but blink up at her. “Oh!” She takes her hand and allows herself to be pulled up. “Thanks.”_

_The other girl let’s go of her hand and Fray instantly wants to grab it again. “I’m Nebula. But, call me Nebby.”_

_“That’s a really pretty name,” Flushing, Fray shakes her head. “I mean, you’re really pretty! No! Um,” When Nebula giggles kindly at her, she takes in a breath. “I’m Fray.” Being raised by fairies for the first fourteen years of her life definitely hadn’t helped her awkwardness in the romance department. Even now at seventeen, she’s still a mess with this sort of thing._

_Either Nebula doesn’t notice, or she’s too nice to point it out. Fray figures it’s definitely the latter. “It’s really nice to meet you, Fray.”_

_When Nebula offers to help her with the rest of her deliveries, Fray quickly accepts._

_Over the next three weeks, both girls grow extremely close and Nebula accompanies Fray every other day with her deliveries, which is the reason they’re in their current situation. “I can’t believe Mara threw mud at us!”_

_Fray sighs as she pulls more out of her hair. “I guess she’s never heard of not shooting the messenger.”_

_Nebula smiles and rubs her thumb over Fray’s bottom lip. “You missed a spot.”_

_Fray quickly looks away to hide her blush. “Thanks. That was the last one, do you want to come over for a bit?” Nebula nods and they walk in a comfortable silence towards Fen and Fray’s cottage._

_When they walk in, they see Fen sitting on a chair, a piece of paper in her hand. Fray puts her satchel down next to the door. “Hey, mom.”_

_Fen lifts her head up and beams at them. “Hi, sweetheart. Hi Nebula!”_

_Nebula smiles in response, raising a curious eyebrow. “What’s that?”_

_“Hmm?” Nebula juts her chin towards the piece of paper. “Oh! It’s the High King election ballot.”_

_Fray and Nebula share a knowing smile and Fray walks closer to Fen. “Is the next High King allowed to vote in her own election?”_

_“Fray!” Fen means to sound scolding but her smile gives away how she really feels. “I highly doubt that’ll happen.”_

_Fray frowns at her. “Mom, of course it will. Fillory loves you, and you love Fillory. It’s obvious who they’re going to vote for.”_

_Fen just shakes her head and gives her a gentle smile. “We’ll see. Dinner is almost ready, would you like to stay, Nebula?”_

_Nebula sends her a half smile. “Absolutely.”_

_Fray gently grabs her wrist and tugs her into her room, both of them sitting on the bed. Fray makes sure the coast is clear before grinning. “Alright, Nebby, would are we spying on today?”_

_Nebula lets out a small laugh and shakes her hands. “Let’s randomize it.” Cupping her hands together, then pulling them apart, a small portal opens up to show a group of three people._

_Nebula has the ability to look into other worlds via small portals, which Fray has been jealous of since the day they met. “I wish we could visit them somehow.”_

_She looks at Fray almost apologetically. “Me too. But I can only look.”_

_Fray bites her lip, suddenly nervous. “Nebby?”_

_“What is it?”_

_Fray tries to gather some courage as the other girl smiles softly at her. “Nebby, I..I’m really happy I met you. I’ve only known you three weeks but I feel like I’ve known you my whole life and-“ Fray cuts herself off, not sure how to continue. “Sorry. Um, I-“_

_“Fray?”_

_She meets Nebula’s eyes and the other girl reaches out to gently take her hand. “Can I kiss you?”_

_The second Fray nods, Nebula does just that._

_They could both probably stay like that forever, but eventually they pull apart and Fen tells them dinner is ready._

* * *

“Look, no offense, but what the fuck does this have to do with us?” Fray frowns slightly at Penny when he interrupts her.

“Because you were some of the people we spied on.”

* * *

_Three days later, while Fray is walking on her route, a letter loosely in her hand, she hears Nebula call her name as she runs towards her, a portal between her hands. “Fray! You’ll never belie-“ She gasps as she slips on a wet rock, and Fray immediately rushes forward to catch her, accidentally dropping the letter. To the shock of both of them, the letter falls right through the portal and into the world Nebula had been watching._

_Sitting on the ground, both of them gape as the letter lands in a river. “What..Nebby, how did you-“_

_Nebula shakes her head quickly. “I didn’t. Fray..you did.”_

_Fray blinks at her in shock. “I did?”_

_“I’ve tried to send things through the portals before, but it never works,” She looks around and grabs the rock she had slipped on. “Here, try again.” Fray takes the rock from her and drops it through the portal, but it comes right back._

_“Maybe it was a coincidence.”_

_“No, there’s no way. She chews on her bottom lip, thinking, and suddenly her eyes light up. “Wait! Maybe you can only send messages.”_

_Fray quickly pulls out a letter that’s been ripped up, dropping it through the portal and it goes right through. “Holy shit. I have two powers.”_

_Nebula beams at her before scrunching her eyebrows together. “Rainbows and messages,” She turns to her girlfriend who’s looking out towards the distance. “Fray, about your birth parents..have you ever-“_

_“The election!” Fray looks at Nebula in a panic and jumps to her feet, pulling her girlfriend up with her. “Hurry, we’ll miss it!”_

_It doesn’t take them long to get there, mainly because of how fast Fray had run. The crowd is too large for them to sit in the front, so they settle for seats in the very back. Fray scans the crowd for Fen, finally spotting her in the front. Fen notices her looking and waves enthusiastically, which Fray gives a smile in return._

_One of the Fillorians, Alec, Fray thinks, gives a small speech before he pulls out the card that has everyone’s votes counted._

_Fray wonders, if when her mom becomes High King, she’ll be considered a princess. She fucking hopes not._

_Nebula squeezes her hand in excitement and Fray squeezes back. “Once my mom is elected, we’ll be-“_

_“Henry Fogg.”_

_For a long moment, the entire crowd is so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Then, slow and unsure applause. Fray feels her entire body go numb, and she looks at Fen, who’s posture isn’t as straight as before, and who’s smile no longer reaches her eyes like it had only twenty seconds ago. “That’s..this isn’t possible. I know people voted for her, a lot of people,” All Nebula can do is squeeze her hand tighter._

_Fen begs her to let it go._

_She doesn’t._

_She can’t._

_Because she knows who that man is, can somehow feel the evil and danger swirling inside of him. She also knows that not a single soul voted for him. At least not willingly._

_But he’s dangerous, and willing to do whatever it takes to keep his power._

_And so Fray keeps her mouth shut._

* * *

They’re all staring at her, confusion bright within their eyes. “No one did anything. No one stood up that day and said something, said that everyone had voted for Fen.”

“It almost sounds like the bystander effect,” Julia pipes up softly. “Nobody does anything because they think someone else will.”

* * *

_Fray kept her mouth shut. Until she couldn’t anymore._

_On a Saturday, as if something magical wanted to make sure that someone saw the shadow that hides behind their new king, the wind blew a letter out of her hand, forcing her to chase it. It feels like she’s run for miles when the letter finally lands in front of an entrance to a small shed._

_There’s someone talking inside, and she immediately recognizes the voice of the High King. “Why is this taking so long?”_

_Carefully, she nudges the door open a bit more and for a moment she’s too shocked to do anything. She forces herself to look away from the swirling black mass and focus on Fogg. “You should be bigger by now.” He scans the mass, tension in his shoulders. “The people here don’t use their abilities enough, do they? That’s what it is. I need them to use more. The more they use the more I can take, and soon,” There’s a smile in his voice. “Soon, I’ll be unstoppable.”_

_Fray backs up and bolts, ignoring the letter she left behind._

_It’s only when she’s safe inside the cottage does she realize his shadow had moved differently than him._

* * *

“That thing..it’s evil, almost as evil as him.”

Josh straightens his glasses and squints. “It looks like a black hole.” 

“It’s a vacuum.”  
  
“What are you talking about?” Alice steps forward. “Fray, get to the point, what are you doing here?”   
  
“Fen isn’t my birth mother, you know.” She steps closer to them, ignoring Alice, not taking her eyes off the swirling black mass. “She’s my mom, and I love her with all my heart, but she isn’t my birth mother. I was kidnapped by fairies when I was a newborn. I don’t know what happened to my birth parents, though I’m sure they’re dead. Fen took me in after I escaped and came to Fillory.”   
  
“A tragic backstory that no one asked you for,” Margo stares at her suspiciously. “Why are you telling us this?”   
  
Fray finally turns to face them all. “Because I’m F. I’m the one that sent you those letters. I’m the reason you’re in Fillory.”

* * *

_“Are you sure about this?”_

_Fray sucks in a deep breath and nods, turning off the lights in her room. Taking the folded up letter into her hands, she makes sure they’re completely alone before looking back to her girlfriend. Nebula opens a portal, focusing on the group they saw, and Fray drops the letter through. It’s quickly picked up by a messenger bird and Fray sighs in relief. “Okay, we’ve done what we can. It’s up to them now.” Fray blows out the candle, and any light in the room is now completely gone._

_Nebula leans forward and kisses Fray on the forehead. They lay down on Fray’s bed, limbs tangled._

_Neither of them sleep._


End file.
